


A Conversation

by Totallynotashieldagent



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, F/M, Heartbreak, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Queen Shuri, So much angst, Spoilers, Tony Needs a Hug, massive spoilers, this one's for all of us, tony and reader friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-04 02:02:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14582478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Totallynotashieldagent/pseuds/Totallynotashieldagent
Summary: Reader is alone in her building but then hears a stranger trying to reach a neighbour who is no longer there





	A Conversation

**Author's Note:**

> OHKY SO FIRST OF ALL  
> INFINITY WAR RUINED ME AND I WAS STUCK WITH A WRITER'S BLOCK FOR ALMOST TWO WEEKS BECAUSE THAT MOVIE FUCKING RUINED ME!!!!!
> 
> also - this fic is for my bbi tony because he needs a fucking break and like - i dont know but i really really want to dedicate this to all the readers who've been with the MCU since IronMan. I'm just - my heart is broken but we'll get through this
> 
> maybe listen to Carry On by Ruelle for Exxxxxtra feels in this fic?

You didn't know what happened but your heart was empty. You knew something terrible happened. Half the world was empty. There was chaos everywhere and no one knew what was going on. 

 

Your neighbours were gone as far as you could see and your family was gone, as far as you knew. The news was in a frenzy. Twitter was crashing again and again. Every other social media platform was just posting conspiracy theories because no one knew what happened or what was happening or if it was all over or not. 

 

It was a full two weeks of complete and utter chaos later when the TVs turned on and the radios tuned in by themselves.

 

"We know you are afraid," A girl's voice came through and you rushed to see what was on, "But believe me, so am I," She looked young and her eyes were puffy, she looked like she'd been crying but her hair was in an intricate headpiece and there was traditional paint on her stunning dark skin, "I am Queen Shuri of Wakanda. The following message will explain everything that has happened. Please, do not lose hope. We will get through this," 

 

A clip played of Dr Banner, explaining what had happened, or rather, he was trying his best to explain. It was all so confusing. He kept saying a word that sounded Greek,  _Thanos_. 

 

"What happened?" You stared at the screen as they tried their best to explain what was going on 

 

The world was grieving and most of them didn't know how to go through it. Parents lost their children. Children lost their friends. Families had been torn apart and you stood alone in your apartment. 

 

"We must help each other rebuild the world," The young Queen came on the screen again, "Wakanda will help as much as possible. We urge you to do the same. Help each other. We have all lost someone," She swallowed as her eyes watered, "I lost my brother, many friends and much of my Kingdom but we are here. We are here, still. We will be here to rebuild everything," She smiled softly and your heart broke for her, "We must inform you that-," 

 

The blackness of the evening engulfed you and silence fell. Power outages were becoming increasingly common because of the lack of people to keep everything running. Nothing was working properly, and slowly, things were just deteriorating. 

 

"This will pass," You kept chanting to yourself as you slowly walked towards the kitchen for the candles, "We'll get through this," You kept repeating, "That's what we do- That's what humans do- We- We survive," Your hands shakily lit the candle, "We'll survive," Your eyes were full of tears but you couldn't really afford the luxury of breaking down. 

 

Suddenly, you heard a faint knock. At first, you told yourself that you were just imagining it but then the knocking persisted. You crept to the door and you creaked it open. There was a man at the end of the hall. 

 

"H-Hello?" You called out because if there was actually someone there or just a ghost or something your mind was hoping for there to be

 

"Hey," He spun around, "I'm looking for May," 

 

"She's not there," You whispered, "There's no one in this building except me and a few others on the ground floor," 

 

"No," He laughed, "I mean- She could've gone out, right? She's not  _gone_  gone. Right?"

 

You still couldn't see who it was so you raised the candle in your hand, but he was still far from the light but there was a soft glow near his chest. You guessed he was holding a cellphone.  _Maybe he's trying to call May_ , You thought to yourself.

 

"No, she's really gone," You swallowed, "She was- Uh- She was with me- When she- when it happened. Who are you? Do you- Was she close to you?"

 

"No," He chuckled, "No, not really. I used- I used to play big brother to her nephew," 

 

 _Used to_ , Those words hit you harder than they should've 

 

"Do you want to come in?" You offered and he nodded

 

"Yeah- Sure- Why not," He shrugged and walked closer, "I could use the company," 

 

"You- You're," You stuttered as his face finally entered the soft glow of the flame, "Peter? Peter's gone?"

 

May had told everyone how Peter had gotten an internship with Stark Industries and how Tony Stark was mentoring him personally. You didn't really believe how true it was but here he was, as true as day and night, Tony Stark in your darkened living room. 

 

"Yeah," Tony grimaced, "Kid's- He's-," He cleared his throat and sat on the sofa

 

You placed the candle on the table in front of him. You didn't want to light too many candles at once because you had to save the ones you had. No one knew how long the blackouts could be for. 

 

"I don't have much to offer," You ran your fingers through your hair, "I've got little of everything and I have to save- I don't- I don't know how long all this would last," 

 

"Did you lose someone?" Tony looked up at you and in the candlelight, you saw how hollow his eyes had become

 

"Uh- Yeah- Yes," You sat down next to him, "I- I can't get in touch with any of my family. I don't- My parents, my siblings- No one- I don't know if they're out there or just gone. I stay here- I keep waiting that someone will come looking-," You took a shaky breath, "So- I don't really know who I lost,"

 

"That's better, you know," He looked at the flame, "It's better to not know, sometimes. That way you can keep  _hoping_  that there's another way,"

 

You stared at him because you'd never seen or heard him speak in such a defeated tone. 

 

"How- How can you say that?" You couldn't believe your ears, "I could just be waiting for  _no one_ to show up! They could be- They're all just probably-,"

 

"Trust me," He sighed, "That's just how things are- It's better to not know. That way you get hope. If they'd died in front of you, then what?"

 

"I- I would've- I would've known that I'm waiting for someone who wouldn't come," Your wiped your eyes, "But how can you be so- so done? You- You're- you're Tony Stark," You chuckled nervously as tears fell from your eyes, "You're IronMan- You save the day- You save us,"

 

"I haven't been able to save anyone in a very long time," He leaned back and silence fell again

 

"That- That's not true," You whispered, "You saved us so many times. Over and over again. You saved this whole city when there was an alien attack," You looked him, his eyes were shining, holding in the tears that were threatening to spill, "You saved Peter," You smiled to yourself, "That boy screamed up and down the hall for weeks afterwards. You saved yourself when you were taken- We all saw it on the news- You save people. That's what you do. That's you were built to do," 

 

"Did you make that up on the spot?" Tony laughed and looked at you, "Seems a bit rehearsed," 

 

"Yeah- I saw you in the dark and prepared my monologue," You quipped with a smirk, "I know- I know things are really, really bad but we really do believe in you,"

 

"You keep saying  _we_  and  _us_ ," He pointed out

 

"Us, the city of New York, the country even, I don't know," You shrugged, "We've seen you grow and crumble and rebuild yourself. We've watched it through tabloids and newspapers and TV and Twitter. We'll be here even when you're tired and want out- We just- We need to know that you tried," 

 

"Yeah?" The corners of his lips twitched for a smile, "How would you know? How would anyone know that I tried?" 

 

"Because we'll see when you're broken beyond repair," You said the thing that Tony didn't want to think, "You're not alone- No matter how lonely you would feel- We're- We're all scared and we're all looking for answers- You just- You just need to show everyone that you tried. You're only human," You reached for him and he didn't pull away, you held his hands, "You're not supposed to be alone," As your thumb caressed his skin, Tony realized how starved for affection he was, "Please, don't give up yet. Not yet," 

 

"How can you be like this?" His eyes stared into yours, "After everything that's happened- After  _everything_ ,"

 

"It's not the first time I've lost something, Mr Stark," You voice was soft and the light flooded the apartment as the electricity came back on

 

You pulled away and blew out the candle. Tony suddenly became aware of how close you were. He stood up and you did too. 

 

"I'll- I'll get some stuff sent for you- make sure you're comfortable," He offered and you shook your head

 

"I'll manage," You assured him and brought him to your door

 

"Yeah, well- Still- Thanks for your company," Tony put his hand forward but you hugged him 

 

His breath was caught in his throat and he relaxed in your arms. He whispered another thank you and left.

 

"Hey!" You called out, "You'll figure out a way," You smiled at Tony, "You always do and we'll be here with you when you do," 

**Author's Note:**

> hit me up on my tumblr (Totallynotashieldagent) so we can both cry about this movie together
> 
> please leave a comment  
> feedback is HIGHLY appreciated  
> tbh - i cried while writing this


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